Paramount Skydance Denies Reports of Warner Bros. Discovery Bid
Paramount Skydance has dismissed claims as “completely inaccurate” regarding its alleged collaboration with a group of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds for a substantial $71 billion bid for Warner Bros. Discovery.
According to a report from Variety on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources, it was suggested that David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance was in discussions with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Qatar Investment Authority, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to form this significant proposal.
A representative from Paramount stated, “The information published by Variety is categorically inaccurate. This is a confidential process, which we respect and will not comment until the process is concluded.”
Variety’s report indicated that the proposal values Warner Bros. Discovery at roughly $28.65 per share, based on outstanding shares. It noted that the Ellison family primarily backs the proposal, with support also coming from Jerry Cardinal’s Redbird Capital.
The news suggested that each of the sovereign wealth funds would contribute $7 billion, while Paramount Skydance would provide $50 billion. Previous bids from Paramount, reaching as high as $24 a share, had already been turned down by Warner Bros.’ board, as reported by the Post last month.
Requests for comment from representatives of the sovereign wealth funds went unanswered.
After the initial report from Variety, WBD’s stock saw a 6.4% rise in New York, though those gains have since leveled off. Meanwhile, Paramount’s stock increased by as much as 3.7%.
Warner Bros. Discovery, which oversees HBO, CNN, Warner Bros. Pictures Studios, and Food Network, put itself up for sale in October after attracting interest from various bidders. A deadline for the bidding has been set for Thursday.
Besides Paramount, both Netflix and Comcast are anticipated to make offers for parts of WBD’s movie and streaming segments.
Comcast CEO Brian Roberts recently traveled to Saudi Arabia as the company evaluates a potential bid for WBD.
Paramount is reportedly the only entity looking to acquire WBD entirely.
If this deal were to materialize, merging Paramount with WBD, which includes Paramount Pictures, CBS, Showtime, and Nickelodeon, could significantly alter the media landscape by uniting two major movie studios and influential news networks.
WBD’s CEO David Zaslav has expressed intentions to separate the company’s lucrative streaming and movie segments from its struggling cable television assets.
Ellison’s vigorous pursuit of Warner Bros. follows his recent acquisition of Paramount through a merger with Skydance in August.
As noted previously, if this merger goes ahead, it’s likely to face regulatory challenges, though it seems to have the approval of President Trump, who is known to admire Larry Ellison, David’s father and co-founder of Oracle.
